Batt sent Hearn his number and waited for a call. “I was intrigued when Barry got in touch on Twitter but we were getting to advanced stages with other clubs so it was quite late for Orient to make their interest known,” said the 26-year-old.

“He rang me straight away and asked me to come to his office the following morning. We met up and thrashed out a deal from there. He told me how much he and [Orient manager] Russell Slade wanted me to be part of their plans. He has a big reputation in business so he sold it to me straight away. He just said the club were looking to improve on last year and that I could play a big part in that. It was all I needed to hear.”

Days after the Twitter exchange, Batt joined on a free transfer after agreeing a two-year contract.

“It is a definitely not a normal way to buy a player but it worked,” he said. “I would assume nothing like that has been done before but it paid off for me and I do not see why methods like that will not develop in future.”

Orient have made their best ever start to a season and are top of League One after winning their first five games. Tomorrow’s home match against Notts County has been postponed because of the number international call-ups for the visitors and Batt, who scored a hat-trick in Tuesday’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win over Gillingham, admits an enforced break is frustrating.

“The way we are playing, the last thing we need is a weekend off,” he said.“It is pretty much the same nucleus that finished last season so strongly and we have continued that form into this season.

“We must keep this momentum going and if we carry on the way we are going, who knows? The main thing is we want to be in the play-offs at the end of the season but automatic promotion is definitely not out of our reach.”